– Utility Warehouse and Ovo both highly commended in three categories
– Shell Energy has the lowest number of satisfied customers
– One in 13 people struggling to pay their energy bills
Expert Reviews has revealed the winners and losers in its annual Energy Awards, with Octopus Energy retaining its title as the overall winner and emerging victorious in all four of the other categories. Working in partnership with YouGov, Expert Reviews’ Energy Awards survey asked consumers from across the UK to rate their suppliers for customer service and value for money.
Energy bills haven’t been far from the news throughout 2022. In April, a 54% increase in the energy price cap saw the average annual bill rise from £1,277 to £1,971. This was set to rise further to £3,549 before the government stepped in and announced its Energy Price Guarantee, limiting the price per unit to produce an average annual bill of around £2,500 for the typical household.
Our survey was conducted back in July 2022, yet, even before the most recent price rises, one in 13 of the respondents stated that they had contacted their energy supplier in the previous 12 months to say they were struggling with their bills.
While it isn’t possible to save money by switching suppliers at the moment, it is possible to swap to a supplier with better service without paying exit penalties, and Expert Reviews’ Energy Awards provide guidance on which ones look after their customers the best.
The awards were split into five categories: Best Customer Service, Best Value, Best Bills and Fastest Call Centre Response, and an Overall Winner that was decided by how well companies had done in other categories. Two highly commended awards were also given in each category.
Octopus Energy came top in all five categories, retaining its title of Overall Winner. The company is only six years old, but in that time it has clearly managed to impress its three million customers, with 72% saying they would recommend the company to a friend. Of the customers who approached the company saying they were struggling with bills, 59% were satisfied with Octopus Energy’s response, which is dramatically better than the average satisfaction of 29% across all our other surveyed suppliers.
The overall runners-up, Utility Warehouse and Ovo, both received Highly Commended awards for their good customer service and overall value for money.
At the other end of the scale, just 23% of Shell Energy’s customers said that they would recommend the supplier. It’s worth noting that all the providers that appeared in both this year’s and last year’s survey, including Octopus Energy, had a significantly smaller proportion of customers saying they would recommend them this year.
When it comes to customer service, Octopus Energy had an impressive 69% of its customers saying they were satisfied with the service they received. This is due in part to its responsiveness, with 53% of phone calls answered within five minutes or less and 44% of all emails responded to within a day. The highly commended suppliers Utility Warehouse and Ovo had 52% and 46% of their customers say they were satisfied respectively.
The Best Bills category rewards suppliers for providing clear, easy-to-understand bills that make it simple for customers to keep track of soaring prices and understand exactly where their hard-earned money is going. Octopus Energy once again took the top spot here, with 86% of consumers saying their bills were straightforward, but Highly Commended Bulb and E.ON weren’t far behind, with 76% and 74% respectively. EDF had the highest percentage of customers saying their last bill was difficult to understand, at 27%.
Value for money is one category where all of the companies surveyed struggled for votes, which is no surprise given the huge increase in energy costs over the past 12 months. Octopus Energy once again came out top with 53% saying they were satisfied. Highly commended Utility Warehouse trailed behind Octopus Energy with 40% satisfied overall but also had the highest percentage of customers who were very satisfied at 24% and the lowest percentage who were dissatisfied at 17%. The other highly commended supplier was Ovo with 38% of its customers saying they were satisfied.
The full list of winners and highly commended companies for 2022 is as follows:
Overall Winner: Octopus Energy
Highly commended: Utility Warehouse, Ovo
Best Customer Service: Octopus Energy
Highly commended: Utility Warehouse, Ovo
Best Value: Octopus Energy
Highly commended: Utility Warehouse, Ovo
Best Bills: Octopus Energy
Highly commended: Bulb Energy, E.ON
Most Responsive Call Centre: Octopus Energy
Highly commended: SSE, E.ON
To read the in-depth numbers and results for each category, along with the detailed methodology behind the survey, go to: expertreviews.co.uk/energy/1417008/expert-reviews-energy-awards-2022-the-results
About Expert Reviews
Expert Reviews helps consumers buy with confidence. We bring together experts in every field to provide our readers with in-depth, authoritative buying advice on everything from lawn mowers and TVs to broadband and phone contracts.
Find out more at www.expertreviews.co.uk
Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov plc. The total sample size was 2,051 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8 and 11 July 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
Only suppliers where the number of respondents was more than 50 people were included in our results. This means we haven’t been able to report on Ebico, Ecotricity, Outfox the Market and SO Energy.
Total percentages mentioned in the article may differ slightly compared to the figures in the tables due to rounding.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence
